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Charging into the future
The Bucks Herald's motoring editor Alan Candy road tests an electric car around Aylesbury.
I turned the ignition key.
Absolutely nothing.
I looked up helplessly and dealership owner Gary Band smiled knowingly.
"There's no engine noise, just hit the accelerator and away you go," he explained.
Driving this particular electric car – a Sakura Maranello4 – is an eerie experience, and laughably simple.
A tiny gearstick raised up just under the dashboard doesn't need much mastering– press the knob on the top and push the lever forward or backwards, depending on which way you want to go.
A bit like a milk float, really.
The tiny Italian-built, battery- powered model is a two-seater, and actually shorter than a Smart car.
But it never feels cramped, as there's stacks of headroom and surprising luggage space behind the rear seats.
Best of all, it costs peanuts to run.
Plug it into an ordinary household socket for a couple of hours and – hey presto! – you have enough juice to take you from 70 km to 100 km (43.4-62.1 miles) from a single charge.
Travelling around town is strangely quiet, with just a ghostly soprano warble emanating from the cute Maranello.
The speedo said it would do 120km/h (74.5mph) but I only managed 35km/h flat out (21.7 mph), which was pretty pedestrian.
Other than that, handling, manoeuvring and comfort levels were surprisingly high.
Around town I could certainly live with an electric car – especially as I would be paying no road tax and could take it and park it more or less anywhere free (including London).
And there's the feelgood factor of flying the green flag...
Mr Band, of Country Cars & Vans, in Buckingham Road, Aylesbury, said: "We bought it to do our bit for the environment and for a bit of fun, really."
The 2007 Maranello is on sale there for 4,500 ... and has only done about 600 miles. Call 01296 421114 for full details.
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Weather for Aylesbury
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
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Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
